Date: Fri, 04 Oct 1996 23:53:56 -0400
From: Maggie Heineman
Subject: Pennsylvania Expose 10/5/96
Pennsylvania Expose
October 5, 1996
Number 12
CONTENTS
* Children's Defense Fund
* PA Anti-marriage Legislation
* The Internet's Engine for Politics: Email
* Hate Crimes
* Assault on The Supreme Court
* Sports Radio Station Gay Bashing
* Calendar
* [PAX Masthead]
================================================
Children's Defense Fund
-- By John Aravosis
Children's Defense Fund
(hn3208@handsnet.org)
Call Senator Spector NOW to save two key children's
programs. House and Senate negotiators are debating
the Community Schools program (youth crime prevention)
and Community-based Family Resource and Support Grant
Program (child abuse prevention). Both are funded in
a Senate version of the appropriations bill; neither
is funded in the House version. Negotiations are
reportedly not going well. Specter (chairman of the
Labor subcommittee) needs to hear from PA immediately.
Urge everyone you know to call Specter and tell him to
hold firm on the proposed Senate funding levels for
the Community Schools program and the Community-based
Family Resource and Support Grant program.
Senator Specter's office in DC: 202/224-4254
US Congress Switchboard: 202/224-3121
================================================
PA Anti-marriage Legislation
-- By Joe Perkinson
Eastern Pennsylvania Freedom to Marry Coalition
(PHFtoMarry@aol.com)
SB434 barring recognition of same-sex marriages has
been passed by the house 177 to 16 and the Senate 43
to 5 and now needs a concurrence vote on unrelated
amendments in the house before going to Gov. Ridge.
We now know without question who is friendly and who
is not. The sixteen Representatives and five Senators
who voted against SB434 are our most courageous
allies.
Our friends voting against SB434 in the House:
L. Cohen (R-Montgomery), Carn (D-Philadelphia),
M. Cohen (D-Philadelphia), Curry (D-Montgomery), Evans
(D-Philadelphia), Itkin (D-Allegheny), Josephs
(D-Philadelphia), Manderino (D-Philadelphia),
Michlovic (D-Allegheny), Oliver (D-Philadelphia),
Pistella (D-Allegheny), Roebuck (D-Philadelphia)
Thomas (D-Philadelphia), A. Williams (D-Philadelphia),
Youngblood (D-Philadelphia). In the Senate: Heckler
(R-Bucks), Fumo (D-Philadelphia), Hughes
(D-Philadelphia), Schwartz (D-Philadelphia),
and H. Williams (D-Philadelphia).
House sponsors: Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks), Armstrong
(R-Lancaster), Baker (R-Tioga), Birmelin (R-Wayne),
Brown (R-Crawford), D. Clark (R-Juniata), Clymer (R-
Bucks), Coy (D-Franklin), DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), Egolf
(R-Perry), Fargo (R-Mercer), Feese
(R-Lycomming), Fleagle (R-Franklin), Flick
(R-Chester), Hennessey (R-Chester), Hershey
(R-Chester), Hess (R-Bedford), Hutchinson (R-Venango),
Leh (R-Berks), Lloyd (D-Sommerset), Lucyk
(D-Schuylkill), Lynch (R-Warren), Maitland (R-Adams),
Micozzie (R-Delaware), Olasz (D-Allegheny), Phillips
(R-Northumberland), Pitts (R-Chester), Roher
(R-Berks), Sather (R-Huntingdon), Saylor (R-York),
Schroder (R-Chester), Schuler (R-Lancaster), Snyder
(R-Lehigh), Stern (R-Blair), Stish (R-Luzerne), Taylor
(R-Chester), Tigue (D-Luzerne), True (R-Lancaster),
and Waugh (R-York). Senate sponsors: Corman
(R-Centre), Delp (R- York), Helfrick
(R-Northumberland), Mowery (R-Cumberland),
Peterson (R-Venago), Porterfield (D- Westmoreland),
Punt (R- Perry), and Wenger (R-Lancaster).
================================================
The Internet's Engine for Politics: Email
-- By Ed Schwartz
Institute for the Study of Civic Values
(edcivic@libertynet.org)
(adapted from "NetActivism: How Citizens Use the
Internet," O'Reilly and Associates, 1996)
The heart of political organizing and advocacy is
communication. Until now, we've relied on snail mail,
telephones, and fax machines, which are expensive and
limited in their outreach, requiring large
organizations with sizable budgets to fully exploit
them. Email is a powerful new resource. Not just a
"me-to-you" broadcasting system; it is a powerful
"we-to-us" communications system letting people around
the world connect simultaneously.
What can we do as activists through email that we
can't do as easily--or at all--right now? We can
send complex messages and material to each other in
minutes. Fax machines give us this capacity now, but
email is faster and cheaper, especially for sending
all over the country.
We can communicate with thousands of people
simultaneously on our own time for just the access
charges of our online service providers. (This does
not include live "chats," which are easier over the
phone.) Most organizations in the country send a
newsletter to members at great time and expense. Email
could eliminate all that stamping and labeling. Plus,
those who receive email can respond immediately--and
to everyone on the list. No previously-existing
technology permits this interchange among large groups
of people, let alone cheaply and easily.
Email can be used to establish ongoing discussions
within civic and political organizations. Meeting
attendance can be problematic, with demands from job
and family. Electronic communication is no substitute
for meetings, but a group with an email list could
conduct business every day, and the list would permit
everyone in the group to be active. Radio and
television are controlled by the wealthy, and
communication is one-way. The Internet allows
millions of us to find one another and to turn the
transmitters around.
Institute for the Study of Civic Values
1218 Chestnut St., Rm. 702
Phila., Pa. 19107
215-238-1434
Mailing Lists (send the following one-line messages to
majordomo@civic.net):
ISCV email list: subscribe civic-values
ISCV PA list: subscribe penn-neighbor
Web Pages:
ISCV:
http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/iscvhome.html
Neighborhoods Online:
http://libertynet.org/community/phila/natl.html.
=====================================================
Hate Crimes: Discrimination and Violence Against
Lesbians and Gays in PA
-- By Laura Montgomery Rutt
Director, The Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom
Discrimination against gays and lesbians takes many
forms -- workplace discrimination and subtle
innuendoes in the office, violent gay bashing and
sexual assault. The current social and political
climate says it's okay to discriminate based on sexual
orientation. Does this climate lead to more bigotry
and violence? Do discrimination and violence go hand
in hand?
On October 11, Rita Addessa, executive director of the
Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force, will address
these issues with members of the Alliance for
Tolerance and Freedom, Lancaster Area NOW, and others.
(See EVENTS.) Rita will also discuss the results of
the June 1996 Task Force study on discrimination and
violence against lesbian and gays in Pennsylvania.
The study found that over 80% of homosexuals
experience discrimination or violence in their
lifetimes because of their sexual orientation. The
Southern Poverty Law Center reports that in 1996 hate
crimes rose 25% over 1995; a third are motivated by
homophobia.
Lancaster City has a law prohibiting discrimination
based on sexual orientation for housing, employment
and public access--but it's been unenforceable since
the 1991 split of the City/County Human Relations
Commission. The lack of enforcement is a civil rights
violation and shows a lack of concern for the well-
being of those the law is designed to protect.
In Pennsylvania, the Human Relations Commission has no
jurisdiction over discrimination or violence based on
sexual orientation. An individual told that he is
being fired for being gay has no recourse under PA
Law. Civil rights organizations are working to change
this.
====================================================
Assault on The Supreme Court
-- By Chris Purdom
Interfaith Working Group
(iwg@libertynet.org)
Former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is on the
lecture circuit proposing a constitutional amendment
allowing Congress to overturn specific Supreme Court
rulings with a simple majority vote, letting Congress
to ignore the Constitution completely and destroying
the balance of power between the three branches of
government. Any member of a minority that has had
their rights protected by the Supreme Court should be
very concerned.
=====================================================
Sports Radio Station Gay Bashing
-- By Barbara Purdom
Interfaith Working Group
The Philadelphia sports radio station, WIP (610 on the
AM dial), in anticipation of a Monday night matchup
between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas
Cowboys, recently engaged in a week-long pep rally
designed to stir up Eagles fans. Having heard a
number of rumors that Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman
is gay, they played on these rumors to agitate
Philadelphians against the Cowboys (hardly necessary)
by creating a parody of the song "Pink Cadillac" with
dubbed lyrics such as "Pink Quarterback." To voice
your concern, write:
WIP Sports Radio
441 N. Fifth St.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-922-5000
FAX: 2159222364
General Manager: Cecil Forster; General Sales Manager:
John Terboss; Promotion Director: Tom Bigby.
======================================================
Calendar
Friday, October 11, 7:00 pm
Rita Addessa, Executive Director, Philadelphia Lesbian
and Gay Task Force, at the YWCA, 110 North Lime St.,
Lancaster. Open to the public. (See HATE CRIMES,
above.)
Friday October 11-Sunday October 13
Remembrance and Resistance in Washington D.C. Buses
available to and from Center City Philadelphia for day
trips to see the AIDS quilt Friday and Saturday.
Email Julie Davids at ACT-UP or call 215-731-1844.
Friday October 11-Monday October 14
PFLAG national conference in Washington D.C. Web
page: http://www.pflag.org. Email: SClarke@pflag.org
OR BalcomGrp@aol.com.
Sunday, October 13, 2:00-9:30 pm
A Gathering for Ethics and Meaning. Sponsored by the
Delaware Valley Politics of Meaning Network. Keynote
speaker: Michael Lerner, editor of TIKKUN Magazine and
author of "The Politics of Meaning." Theater,
workshops, music, dinner. Tabernacle United Church,
37th & Chestnut Sts., Phila. Registration $35 (income
over $40,000), $25 (income under $40,000), $10 (income
under $15,000). Call Leon Oboler at 610-227-8506, or
email leonobol@voicenet.com.
Sunday, October 20
AIDS Walk in Philadelphia. Call 215-389-1400 to join
the Interfaith Working Group team (#428).
Monday, October 14
Washington D.C.: MOBILIZE AMERICA! Videoconference
from Americans United for the Separation of Church and
State. Call 1-800-665-0062 or email
amerunited@aol.com.
Wednesday, November 6-Sunday, November 10
Creating Change Conference in Alexandria, VA. Call
NGLTF at (202)332-6483, ext. 3329, cc96@ngltf.org.
=============================================
[Masthead]
Pennsylvania Expose
Copyright (C) 1996
Pennsylvania Alliance for Democracy
PO Box 366
Harrisburg, PA 17108
President, Clark Moeller
* * *
Permission to reproduce, unaltered, in whole
or in part, with copyright notice.
* * *
Editors
Maggie Heineman, maggie@critpath.org
Barbara Purdom, purdom@critpath.org
Design, Layout & Editing
Joseph Bordo
starwalker@earthlink.net